Instagram does not have a native option that allows you to download the profile photo of any user in full size. Outside of this social network, there are different ways to do it. Through external web tools, specific apps, or the desktop version of the Chrome browser.
Instagram modified profile designs in 2019 but did not add an option that many requested, and that may be missing. Sometimes you may want to save an Instagram profile photo, a common practice in WhatsApp, for different reasons. You may want to download your own Instagram profile photo (and the original file has been lost). You may also want to download other people’s profile photos.
These are the three options you have:
Specialized Web Pages
By not allowing Instagram to download profile photos, one of the formulas to achieve this makes it necessary to resort to external options. This also includes specialized web pages such as InstaDP, SaveInsta, or StoriesDown.
The three present a very similar operation, with functions that allow, among other things, to view Stories anonymously to those who do not have an account open on Instagram and facilitating access to the public profiles of the users of this social network. This includes a simple search of the account name (excluding the @ at its beginning).
The page with the search result already offers us the possibility of seeing the profile image in full size and download it. They also represent an anonymous way of viewing and downloading the images. They do not inform the Instagram user of who is viewing their content.
Third-Party Apps
A second possibility would be to use specific applications to download profile photos. These are apps like:
Both are available for Android only. For iOS, you can try Queek (InstaDP app version, available on iOS and Android).
In this case, the operation is very similar to that of the web pages described. Using a search engine, you can enter the name of the account where you want to see the full-size profile.
The difference is that these apps do not offer the possibility to download them, but only to see them in full size without loss of sharpness, resolution, or quality. It will therefore be necessary to take a screenshot to be able to store it.
Chrome Browser
Finally, the Chrome browser, in its desktop version, allows you to download Instagram profile images, although in a somewhat more complex way. First of all, you have to access the address of the profile by entering one of the Instagram profile in the URL bar but (very important) ignoring the @ with what instead of
instagram.com/@username
should be introduced
instagram.com/username
Next, you can access the Chrome Developer Tools section by following the address Menu-More Tools-Developer Tools or the keyboard shortcut Ctrl + Shift + I. This activates some tabs where you have to select Application-Frames-Top-Images.
In the right part of the browser window, there is a list with the different images. You will have to select the profile image and, specifically, the one that appears with the highest resolution since the thumbnail is only 150 × 150 pixels.
